Laundry treating appliances, such as dryers, clothes washers or washing machines that have a variable frequency drive (VFD), are rated for service with certain electrical power supplies. In certain areas of the world, such as North America, 120 Volts alternating current (VAC) electrical power supplies are prevalent. Smaller appliances with smaller load capacity have a 120 VAC service rating and can operate well using a 120 VAC electrical system, but larger appliances with larger load capacity, such as certain commercial washing machines, require a higher voltage supply, such as 240 VAC, to operate properly.
There is little to no availability for 120 VAC input and 240 VAC output circuitry that can drive VFDs at a high power level (such as greater than 750 Watts). Some existing solutions to this problem of insufficient operating power include using a 120 VAC input variable frequency drive (VFD) and an internal doubling circuit to get a 240 VAC output, but such machines are limited to about 4.2 amps of current, not enough to drive some desired loads in a washing machine. Another solution is to use a very large, heavy, and expensive “step-up” voltage doubling transformer to change from a 120 VAC input to a 240 VAC output.